dave_bass5 Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 (edited) +1 on all the good things said about MarkBass. +1 on all the bad things said about Ashdown (if any and only ABM's). Edited May 14, 2009 by dave_bass5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LettuceFunk Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 A more important question might be, how does the Ashdown Little Giant 1000 compare to the LMII, or the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Normal Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I went down to GAK in Brighton where some spotty herbert tried to tell me that these are the best thing since sliced bread. I plugged in and had a try but I have to say that although MarkBass are punchy and crystal clear, they are tonal dwarfs IMHO. I guess it depends on what you play, and if you just play metal, or slap through a big bank of effects you could crank one of these up and cut through the mix no problem. If you want a sweeter tone you can forget about it. And by the way I have to disagree, you will never, ever get an SVT-like tone out of one of these. It did really remind me of an old Trace Elliot to be honest, which is why I'd probably go for Ashdown if I had to choose between two trace clones. Either way I'll stick with my Ampeg thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 [quote name='Max Normal' post='502916' date='Jun 1 2009, 01:24 PM']I went down to GAK in Brighton where some spotty herbert tried to tell me that these are the best thing since sliced bread. I plugged in and had a try but I have to say that although MarkBass are punchy and crystal clear, they are tonal dwarfs IMHO. I guess it depends on what you play, and if you just play metal, or slap through a big bank of effects you could crank one of these up and cut through the mix no problem. If you want a sweeter tone you can forget about it. And by the way I have to disagree, you will never, ever get an SVT-like tone out of one of these. It did really remind me of an old Trace Elliot to be honest, which is why I'd probably go for Ashdown if I had to choose between two trace clones. Either way I'll stick with my Ampeg thanks.[/quote] Tonal dwarf heehee I think you've been on the mushrooms then mate.... I use no effects (other than some very transparent compression) and very occasional envelope filtering. I dont even use EQ normally.... I dont play metal, I play a lot of funk (and not generally the slapped variety). IMO and the opinion of everyone who has heard my rig, my tone rocks (thankfully considering the cost!) - really. Its a solid state amp, renowned for being the closest to the sound of an old school Ampeg (just not being over driven), Talkbass had a massive thread with examples of each and a poll and very few people got the answer right as to which was which. In that regard its as sweet a tone as I have ever heard. The cabs are a different matter, but even they dont sound like an old Trace to my ears (not enough groinkiness). They are a tad impolite/unrefined IMO, with a somewhat nasty tweeter/crossover (same as Eden, SWR, etc etc in that regard IMO). GAK unfortunately just don't cover enough decent cabs (ie Berg IMO, or Aggie DB112 and GS112 according to many) to let the amps truly shine IMO I'm not spotty or a herbert but I do think they are tonally the best thing since sliced bread too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 [quote name='51m0n' post='502934' date='Jun 1 2009, 01:54 PM']I'm not spotty or a herbert but I do think they are tonally the best thing since sliced bread too [/quote] I agree But i do think they only have a limited tonal range. Maybe thats what he meant. I love my MB heads but i very rarely use the tone controls. which means im pretty much using the same tone most nights. Then again, its a P bass so no need to mess with it ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 In that they don't do grind or compression they are tonally limited, the eq is massively powerful and so are the filters however. To me an amp should take what you put in to it and make it louder. It shouldn't have a tonal character really in my book. My bass played with my hands has the character I want not the amp. If I pick up a different bass or someone else plays my bass through my rig the output changes noticeably - really noticeably. If it didn't the rig would fail my number 1 criteria. I recently posted how awesome my rig sounded when I got to use it loud recently, what I didn't say (IIRC) was that it sounded exactly like the bass does recorded direct. I really mean that, just so much louder. Thats perfect for me.... That is the opposite to what a lot of people feel I know, and probably where this all comes from. If I want tubey grind I'll get a tubey grind stomp box (the VT jobbie looks good). Its not something I need an amp to do really though, I certainly wouldn't want that tone always, and if I cant turn it on and off with my foot its no good to me anyway. I've never heard a comp on a head that did what I wanted quite anyway (too many compromises), so I have the daddy of all reasonably priced comps in my rack ta very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I agree with all of that and especially about the filters. I do use those rather than the EQ most of the time. I had a play with the MB software recently. Granted its not a proper rig but as its based on their heads and tone i thought it got very close to how my rig sounds, especially with a bigger cab. But going through the presets (yeah, i know) i didn't find a great deal of variation in them. To me the EQ is more for fine tuning than something that will drastically change the sound. Like you i dont want that anyway but i would say if you did then the MB heads might not be the best choice. Again, i love mine and cant see me using anything else but i have them for what they offer me, a way of getting the tone of my bass out in to the audience without it changing much. And as loud as i can get away with ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 First time I tried a LM2 I was blown away...and I didnt expect to be. So...Ive got a LM3 on the way. It doesnt do tube grind at all...obviously, but if you want tube grind, forget everything but a full on tube Amp like Ampeg/Orange/Mesa 400+. Or...emulate it with a sansamp etc. I wanted a good portable loud head with a different sound to what I was used to...and MarkBass amps are perfect for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor_of_the_bass Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 All I will say is `check my signature'! Much love X Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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